Letters

Orin's Influence

Just read "Old School," by Tom Davis (Sept/Oct). Well done. When I was a kid in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, my Dad and I went to many Milwaukee Sentinel Sports Shows. It was our first exposure to trained retrievers, thanks to Orin Benson. We never met Orin, but we sure felt like we knew him. It prompted us to get our first black Lab puppy.

Mike blew us away with his natural ability. We sure did not know how to train Mike at that time. I never will forget running home with tears of joy, with Mike at my side, after a workout throwing balls in Lac La Belle for Mike to retrieve. Mike could not find one of the balls and looked back at me. I gave him a hand signal, and away he swam to find the ball. That simple act blew me away.

Later, married and with two young children, we got another Lab, Drake. Training Drake was a family affair. We used Drake as an excuse to buy a station wagon, a home on a river and a membership to a duck club.

Orin Benson may be gone, but he had a profound effect on our family and our way of life.

Thanks for bringing Orin back to life.

Tim Stone
Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin


A Versatile Clarification

I read the article on versatile breeds ("Jacks-of-All-Trades," by Chad Mason) in May/June with a fair amount of personal interest. Having gone through three or so German shorthaired pointers (GSPs) during the early '70s, I did end up with a dog that clearly was hardheaded enough to teach me what versatiles could do.

After giving up bird hunting for about 25 years, I've gotten back into it again. I started with a NAVHDA-produced German wirehaired pointer (GWP) and ended up with two Deutsch Drahthaars (DDs).

The article basically sidesteps the issue of GSP versus DK (Deutsch Kurzhaar) and GWP versus DD as being beyond the scope of the author's knowledge or article space. That's fair, but when I read the narrative, I was hit by the fact that Mr. Mason laid out the basic differences (as I understand them) when he addressed the NAVHDA definition "priorities." These priorities provide the basis for weights assigned to NAVHDA test elements. The German versatile gundog testing association (JGHV) places the test elements/priorities in nearly the reverse order of those listed for NAVHDA. The emphasis for German testing is "after the shot." The German system basically states that the dog must find the game after the shot, retrieve it to hand or lead the handler to it, and finally find game for the gun.

On another note, Deutsch Drahthaar is not an "old name"; it is the name of a currently registered versatile German hunting dog breed. I, without hesitation, will say that there are a lot more DD owners, breeders, judges and so on out there who have more knowledge than I about what the German system is about. So far none of them have steered me wrong.

Keith Woodworth
Via e-mail


Championing Chaber

Vic Venters' article "A Vintage Presentation" (Game & Gun Gazette, Sept/Oct), on master gunsmith Abe Chaber, deserves special kudos. I first met Abe years ago at The Vintage Cup and quickly learned that he is a superior and demanding craftsman in the true gunmaker's tradition. This also gave me an opportunity to finally put a face with the name of the "great gunsmith up in Connecticut" who many of my side-by-side shooting companions had been sending their cherished guns to for problematic repairs in bolting, ejector mechanisms, sidelock components and external hammers. A couple of years ago Abe spent the better part of an hour with me explaining the intricacies of repairing vintage doubles, especially hammerguns. Of special note, Abe related (as was pointed out in the text of your article) that one of his greatest challenges lies in making the owners or prospective purchasers of vintage guns understand that the original designs, metallurgy and intended uses of most of these works of art never foresaw the stresses put on them today over a sporting clays course on a busy weekend. Light frames, dainty stocks and so-called promotional, high-velocity and game loads are not a good mix. Years ago I began to see some of my friends actively seeking out heavyweight, heavy-proofed pigeon and waterfowl guns over the more-traditional-configuration English and European sidelocks and boxlocks. No doubt prior experiences and consultations with Abe were motivating factors in their purchases.

Kevin McCormack
Washington, DC


Color Guard

I read Mr. Hughes' articles on metal finishes (Fine Gunmaking, May/June & July/August) with great interest. As a longtime subscriber, I have been looking for information in this area. Specifically, I own two Parkers with 98-percent case colors remaining, and I want to find a method for coating the case colors so that I can use the guns without doing damage to the beautiful colors. I am sure many readers also would be interested in this subject; e.g., how do you clean/degrease without doing damage to very old yet still excellent case colors? And what product should I buy? Mr. Hughes says he used a "fine coat of lacquer-the same oil/poly blend I used on the stock." How can I find/mix this? As a home application, it is too difficult to bake on the lacquer. A brush-on product would be just the ticket.

Wayne Ireland
Newport Beach, California


Steven Dodd Hughes responds:

When I lacquer a case-colored shotgun action, the gun is completely disassembled. Mineral spirits or denatured alcohol work fine for degreasing. The lacquer I used on my Fox was Laurel Mt. Permalyn stock finish, which provides a hard and long-lasting topcoat, but as you can see from the photos (July/August), it was not impervious to wear in the long term. I use a fine artist paintbrush to apply the finish.

Baking lacquer probably would provide a tougher surface, but I know of no way to remove it other than abrasives ("impervious to solvents"). I avoid putting anything on a gun that I cannot remove.

I would not hesitate to recommend Chem-Pak glossy aerosol to someone who prefers the spray-application method. Some use violin varnish, which is a bit less glossy but probably not as tough as other finishes.

I stress the importance of having the gun completely disassembled so that everything can be treated without unwanted surfaces, mechanical parts or the stock interfering or being coated with the finish. It is simply impractical to attempt to apply a finish to the metal parts without disassembling the gun.

Excepting violin varnish, all of the above products are available from Brownells.

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